Cave Myths, Legends and Stories

NB: Caves are not places to be explored lightly... this is a list of myths and ghost stories - please ensure you do not become one of the latter...

Colt Pixie

Location: New Forest (Hampshire) - Cold Pixie's Cave, Beaulieu HeathType: FairyDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: A horse-like pixie, this fairy entity would play mild pranks and call out to horses so they became lost.

Underground Figures

Location: Nottingham (Nottinghamshire) - City of Caves, Broadmarsh shopping centreType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 2000s?Further Comments: This network of caves is said to be haunted by several figures. Dark indistinct shadows have been seen darting around, and an upset woman in Victorian clothing has been spotted. It has also been reported that a few people have heard the sound of explosions overhead - the caves were used as bomb shelters during the Second World War.

Murdered Girl

Location: Outer London: Bromley (Greater London) - Chislehurst CavesType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1961Further Comments: A number of ghosts are said to haunt the caves, including a woman who was drowned in a pool who was seen in 1961 - the witness knocked himself out on the cave roof while trying to escape the apparition. Other 'people' have been seen within, and the sounds of children and sometimes horses are reported. One myth says that a priest who spent the night at the site was found dead, the cause of death - fright!

Fiddler

Location: Pendine (Dyfed) - Green Bridge CaveType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: Said to have entered the cave but never to have left, the ghostly fiddler's music can still be heard.

Lost Fisherman

Location: Polperro (Cornwall) - Willy Willock's Hole (cave system)Type: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Stormy nights (reoccurring)Further Comments: A local fisherman once died in the maze of caves located here - he can still be heard crying out for help when the atmospheric conditions are right.

Sleeping Arthur

Location: Pont Nedd Fechan (Mid Glamorgan) - Craig-y-Ddinas, cave systemType: LegendDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: This location is another contender for the place where King Arthur and his knights lay sleeping.

Location: Portreath (Cornwall) - Sea cave in the areaType: LegendDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: Wrath was a giant who lived in a cave with direct access to the sea. He would wait for a ship to wreck before taking the surviving sailors home to eat.

Location: Runswick Bay (Yorkshire) - Hob Holes - caves along the coastlineType: FairyDate / Time: Still presentFurther Comments: Any child taken into the caves at low tide would be cured by the little people (or little person, depending on the legend) who lived within.

Tangie

Location: Shetland Islands (Shetlands) - Fitful Head (cave), aka the Thief's HoleType: LegendDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: A mythical seahorse that was owned by the robber-bandit Black Eric. The creature continued to roam the area for sometime after its master's death.

Dragon of Wormenhert

Location: St Albans (Hertfordshire) - Exact location unknown, said to have been a cave within a gorge in a nearby hillType: DragonDate / Time: Eleventh centuryFurther Comments: Abbot Ealdred of St Albans rebuilt his abbey using the ruins of Verulamium, a Roman city located nearby. During the course
of the work the Abbot destroyed the lair of the dragon of Wormenhert.

Crocodile

Location: St Asaph (Clwyd) - Cefn CavesType: CryptozoologyDate / Time: 1870Further Comments: Measuring around one hundred and forty centimetres in length, a crocodile was said to have been killed by a local man in this cave.

Peter the Pirate

Location: St Donats (South Glamorgan) - Large cave at Tresilian BayType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: First New Moon of the New Year (reoccurring)Further Comments: Peter, pirate, was buried alive at the mouth of a large cave here. For one evening a year he screams out for help.

Leg Breaking

Location: Swordle (Highland) - St Columba's CaveType: LegendDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: The site where Saint Columba baptised two criminals became a site of pilgrimage where travellers left offerings. One man who stole some of the gifts fell from his horse and broke his leg.

Pixie Home

Location: Torquay (Devon) - Kents Cavern (aka Kent's Cavern)Type: FairyDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: One of the stories the tour guides share is that the cave was once inhabited by pixies.

Way In

Location: Tunstead (Derbyshire) - Thor's Cave, Manifold ValleyType: FairyDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: Wayne Anthony, in Haunted Derbyshire and the Peak District, writes that hidden within the cave is an entrance to the fairy kingdom, though one needs to possess second sight to find it. A Roman centurion also haunts the cave, and is said to guard the mouth.

Paul Whitehead

Location: West Wycombe (Buckinghamshire) - West Wycombe Park, caves under the hillType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1781 onwardsFurther Comments: The location of a Hell-Fire Club, Whitehead was a fully fledged and enthusiastic member who has apparently found it hard to leave his membership behind post mortem.

Concealed Treasure

Location: Whitchurch (Hereford & Worcester) - King Arthur's CaveType: LegendDate / Time: Still presentFurther Comments: Arthur hid much of his loot in this cave, which Merlin then protected with a spell, ensuring the treasure would never be found.

Witch of Wookey

Location: Wookey Hole (Somerset) - CavernType: LegendDate / Time: Cottage haunting occurred 1947 - 1954, diver seen 1998Further Comments: It was once believed that an old hag lived in this cave, cursing anyone who tried to visit her. She was finally turned to stone by a monk. A cottage on the site was briefly haunted by a old woman wearing black and white; the ghost vanished after the site was blessed by a vicar. A tour group in the cave in 1998 reportedly observed a figure in an old fashioned goldfish bowl helmet silently moving through the caves. When they checked with the tour guide the group was told it was the ghost of a diver who had been seen several times previous.